Fly540 Angola

Fly540 Angola was a subsidiary of Fly540 that was based at Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda and Cabinda Airport in Cabinda, Angola. Parent company Fastjet suspended its operations in April 2014 pending restructuring, although it never resumed flights.

Fly540 Angola
IATA ICAO Callsign
F5
Founded2009
Commenced operationsApril 2011
Ceased operationsApril 2014
Hubs
Fleet size2
Destinations5
Parent companyFastjet
HeadquartersLuanda, Angola
Key peoplePablo Martins, commercial director

History

Fly540 Angola was established in 2009 as a subsidiary of Kenya-based Fly540.[1] It was the first privately owned airline in Angola. The subsidiary was created as Fly540 felt there was a lack of domestic and regional air service in and out of Angola.[2] Fly540 faced difficulties in launching Fly540 Angola, as Angola was under scrutiny by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and state-owned TAAG Angola Airlines had been placed on the EU blacklist due to safety concerns.[3][4]

Operations were expected to begin in 2009,[1] but Fly540 Angola did not obtain certification from the Instituto Nacional da Aviação Civil until February 2011.[5] The airline commenced flights in April 2011 with a single ATR 72-500 and the Cabinda airport as its base.[6][7] By February 2013, the fleet had grown to two ATR 72-200s and one ATR 72-500.[8]

Fly540 Angola struggled in the market and accumulated losses.[9] In June 2012, parent company Fly540 was acquired by Rubicon Diversified Investments, which made all of Fly540's subsidiaries part of its new venture Fastjet.[10] However, in April 2014, Fastjet suspended Fly540 Angola's operations in order to restructure the airline from its full-service model to Fastjet's low-cost model.[11][12] Fastjet subsequently decided to sell off Fly540 Angola's fleet, and the airline never resumed operations.[13]

Corporate affairs

Pablo Martins was the airline's commercial director at the time of its launch.[5] Fastjet held a 60% stake in the airline.[4]

Destinations

At the time of its suspension, Fly540 Angola flew to the following destinations:[12]

City Airport Notes
BenguelaBenguela Airport—
CabindaCabinda Airport—
LuandaQuatro de Fevereiro AirportHub
M'banza-KongoMbanza Congo Airport—
SoyoSoyo Airport—

Fleet

Fly540 Angola operated two ATR 72 aircraft at the time of its suspension.[12]

Services

Fly540 Angola functioned as a full-service airline rather than as a low-cost airline.[12] Its ATR 72-500 offered 56 economy class seats and 12 business class seats.[7]

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References
  1. "Angola: Airline Fly540, of the Lonrho group, ready to start flight to Luanda soon". Macauhub. 30 April 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  2. Maritz, Jaco (30 March 2011). "New breed of airlines opening up African skies". How We Made It in Africa. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  3. Thome, Wolfgang (22 December 2010). "Fly 540 finally takes to the skies in Angola". eTurboNews. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  4. Schlumberger, Charles; Weisskopf, Nora (2014). Ready for Takeoff?: The Potential for Low-Cost Carriers in Developing Countries. Washington, DC: World Bank Publications. p. 106. ISBN 9781464802836.
  5. "Companhia Fly 540 certificada pelo INAVIC" [Fly540 certified by INAVIC]. Conselho Nacional de Carregadores (in Portuguese). 2 March 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  6. "ATR enters Angola market" (PDF). ATReview. No. 26. ATR. 2011. p. 4. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  7. "Fly 540 presenta nuevo avión" [Fly540 presents new aircraft]. ANGOP (in Spanish). 2 March 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  8. "Fly540 withdraws brand license for Fastjet, legal battle continues". ch-aviation. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  9. "TAAG Angola Airways boosts capacity, justifying Angola's investment in airport infrastructure". CAPA - Centre for Aviation. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  10. "Lonrho sells Fly540 to Rubicon as basis for new African LCC FastJet". CAPA - Centre for Aviation. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  11. "fastjet to restructure Fly540 operations in Angola and Ghana". CAPA - Centre for Aviation. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  12. "Fly540 Angola ops suspended as fastjet moves to restructure". ch-aviation. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  13. "fastjet sells Fly540 Ghana to DWG-G for $1". ch-aviation. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
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